Episode Transcript
[00:00:00] Speaker A: Foreign.
Welcome to the Clear Impact Podcast, brought to you by Mitre Brands University. Thanks for joining us today. My name is Sheri Conner and I am your host.
Good morning. We are here on the Clear Impact Podcast and. And I'm sitting today with Chris Roof. Welcome back.
[00:00:31] Speaker B: Thank you.
[00:00:32] Speaker A: Yeah, it's nice to have you back. We had such a great conversation not too long ago about production and the changes on the manufacturing floor. But I wanted to talk to you specifically today about the operations team meeting. And so before we get into that, can you just recap your background a little bit for anybody that may not have heard the first episode?
[00:00:51] Speaker B: Yeah, no problem. Again, my name is Chris Roof. I'm the senior Director of operations. I have the Venice assembly plant. I also have responsibility for the wind or the commercial operation as well as the Fort Myers location. I've been in manufacturing for just over 30 years now. Started off in manufacturing right out of college from South Carolina. I did attend the great Clemson University.
[00:01:12] Speaker A: I was going to ask you where you were.
[00:01:13] Speaker B: I am a tiger at heart.
[00:01:14] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:01:15] Speaker B: But, yeah, went right into manufacturing. I really enjoyed working with people and started out as a floor supervisor and worked my way up into management as a plant manager, Lean Manufacturing manager, and then finished my career before I came here with Cornerstone Building Brands as a Director of Continuous Improvement. So found my way to Florida from South Carolina and have had a wonderful time in the last three years.
[00:01:36] Speaker A: Yeah, that's awesome.
So I want to do a little background on how this came about because I think people were kind of scratching their heads as to why I was sitting in one of the operations team meetings in the morning.
So we have customer tours that we help out with, and I've been handing more and more of that responsibility off to other people.
But. But I was tagging along on an internal tour not too long ago with some folks from Western, and our tour guide took us into what's known as the shark tank or the war room, as other people refer to it.
And he started explaining that the customers that go on tours also really appreciate seeing that and that they were interested in learning how to adopt that type of meeting for themselves and as part of the education team. That caught my ear. And so I reached out and just said, hey, what are you guys doing there? What do you talk about? And is this a course? Is this a podcast? Like, how do we leverage what you guys have been touching on in the tours to a broader audience? And I loved your response. And I was even happier with the follow up, which was, why don't you Come to a couple of meetings and see for yourself. And then I was just praying that it wasn't a 5am meeting because I can barely get here by 8 most days. It's closer to 8:30. So fortunately that's what time the meeting was, from 8:30 to 9:30. And it was such a, an amazing experience to sit in there and I did learn a lot and I probably am going to make a course out of it, but I definitely wanted to harness the content in a podcast. So basically you had all of your operations leaders, as well as safety and quality and supply chain and production scheduling, were they in there as well? Okay, so I kind of knew some of the people, but then there were production numbers shared for each shift and there's, I don't know, a dozen boards all the way around the room with the whiteboard markers and everybody was filling in their numbers. There's something bigger than that though that went on in that meeting and I want you to tell, I want you to share that.
[00:03:33] Speaker B: Yes, we started this process back, I guess it was probably second quarter of 2025.
And basically each day is what we call our operations meetings. Each morning at 8:30. And we have different disciplines that represent manufacturing that come to this meeting each morning. The majority of these folks that represent the meeting, as you mentioned, have a board that they update their numbers on. But it's not really all about the numbers. It's more about collaboration, it's about accountability and it's about dedication to teamwork. And so each day we dedicate our time and ourselves to making sure that we're holding each other accountable for the results that ultimately affect our customers and our team members.
And so it's a means we start every morning at 8:30 on time, not one minute late, not one minute early.
So it's a very good meeting to keep folks aligned with what our objectives are. We always start off with safety. The safety of our team members, our leaders and all of our folks is extremely important to us. We move into quality, the quality aspects of how we're affecting our customers. Any issues on the floor and then we begin to move into operations. And each operations leader is responsible for having their boards updated by 8:30. Generally, we speak to those boards. So they stand up and they speak and then we move through. And basically those conversations are number one, to understand kind of what they've done, but also to understand where do they need help? Who needs to come in? Who do we need to call in? Do you need help? Are things going good? Can we honor a team Member today for doing something really good last night or yesterday. So it allows us to be able to communicate, hold each other accountable, and we have specific targets that we need to reach each day. If we're not reaching our targets, what can the team do to support you, to help you today so that you can reach those targets? And so it's really evolved. If you would have saw it initially, you'd have been like, what are they doing in there?
But it has gotten to a point now to where they seem to enjoy it. They're very timely. Really. Most all questions are answered and it's really elevated that leadership staff and really done a nice job at making them more acclimated to the business metrics that we have. What we need to do to make sure that we're hitting those and then asking for help whenever they need that help.
[00:05:46] Speaker A: Yeah, that's one of our DNA points, right? Is don't be afraid to ask for help. The thing that I was so impressed with, I mean, there were a number of things and maybe I'll save my comments for afterwards, but why are these so critical? I mean, you've already touched on a few things, but what do you think is probably the number one?
[00:06:02] Speaker B: They're critical because, you know, we have a really, really large spread out organization on this campus.
So many different things coming together from our glass plant to our materials maintenance support, quality support, engineering support, operations, trying to do everything that they can to build a correct door or window. But making sure that everybody's aligned and understanding what that is is very important. And it plays a real important role in us being successful for our customers. It really comes down to all those ingredients coming together to make sure that we're being successful for the end customer. And we have to do this each day to make sure that we don't lose sight of things. And when we do have hiccups or we have issues that come up, we have countermeasures in place to make sure that the customer doesn't get impacted by it.
[00:06:51] Speaker A: We are sharing our expertise around all topics relating to the window and door industry. Whether you are a customer selling our products or a homeowner doing research, the Clear Impact podcast provides helpful content that makes an impact. Subscribe today wherever you listen to podcasts.
Yeah, that was one of the things that I think I was surprised about was that our customer service managers were on the call as well. So that they have their hand on the pulse of what's happening on the floor. And it's the manufacturing name, it's the Chris's So Chris Roof, and then your boss is Chris Davis, but we have Chris Guy Roberts over at AP2. We have Chris Kerwood down in Fort Myers. It's like, if your name is Chris, you're probably in manufacturing leadership here. And then Cameron's over at Glass.
If his name was Chris, it would be perfect. But anyway, it was so cool just to see that everybody knows what's happening and this truck is coming in and you know, hey, we're waiting on this piece of glass. Can we make it in house instead of waiting on it? You know, those were some of the conversations, even down to just like one specific product. And out of the thousands of units that we produce a day here, to take time for all of that leadership to hone in on one specific order for one specific customer just blew me away. The level of detail was impressive.
[00:08:08] Speaker B: Yeah. One thing that we worked on a lot lot last year and continue to work at is the standardization of processes. We worked real hard back in 24 to move our on time and in full. Our otif or our service to our customers, our deliveries. We worked real hard at that. And we got up outside of some of the situations we dealt with with the hurricane, we were up 88 to 90%, but we could never really close the loop on that. And a lot of it was because of processes that hadn't been developed. It's a very large place. And this is a statement I say a lot. You can't strong arm it. You know, in a small facility, you may be able to push through things. If you don't have standardized processes that people understand, support and are committed to using each day, things can get really out of whack, so to speak. So we worked hard at process standardization last year. Leader, standard work process, backorder meetings that we have each day. Oldest and newest units, we don't leave anything behind. So we make sure every single day for every line we understand the oldest unit that sits out. There could be many different situations that's causing that, but we leave no unit behind.
And in the past, that was something, I think that really hurt our customers because we didn't follow that. We didn't know things that got left behind. We didn't use standard procedures. Maybe in some areas, maybe less in others. And so we tried to develop a standard process, but what better way than to have a standard process that we do every single day to kind of roll all of that into one. So the teams have done a great job adapting to that. We've implemented a lot of new process procedures. And standards. And where I'm really proud of them is they've sustained a lot of that. We continue to work at improving those and updating them, but that's really what's allowed us to see the substantial improvement that we've seen in safety, quality, and our otif.
[00:09:55] Speaker A: That's amazing. And so I know for us, for manufacturing, it's. And correct me if I'm wrong, it's manpower, machinery and materials. Right. It's the three M's.
So if it's a dealer, like one of our customers, I'm envisioning that it's probably people, product and permits. Right. Those are the three things that a dealer probably needs in order to have a successful installation. They can't go forward with showing out to Mr. Jones's house if they don't have all three of those things. And so similar but different. How could a smaller operation like a dealership adopt some of those practices? What do you think would be maybe a good suggestion for them?
[00:10:37] Speaker B: Yeah, I think the opportunity to standardize their approach and how they do business and going back and really looking at their processes and procedures today across those different areas, you know, how do they teach and train their people? Is it standardized? Is it the same across different shifts or different layers that they may have? But just utilizing that to really start. But yes, understanding measurements is important. We have to measure ourselves or we generally don't progress. Accountability is a big piece of it. You know, building that into the thought process. Accountability is not a bad word or a bad thing generally, when we can use that to help each other get better. So holding ourselves personally accountable is a big part of what we do each day in our efforts to please our customers. But I think learning from the processes that we use and how we do that and taking that and basically setting that inside of the processes that they have could be a big benefit and just staying very focused and very acclimated to making sure that they sustain.
[00:11:31] Speaker A: Yeah, well, one of the things that was so impressive to me was in the meeting every leader at some point, I sat in two days back to back, and they were different. Each day was different. I was like, maybe I'll pop in in a couple weeks and see if it's changed any. But one of the things I was so impressed with was everybody that came to the table with an issue already had a solution or were actively working towards a solution.
And there was, I think, one out of, I don't know, two hours worth of conversation where someone said, I need help with this.
And there were several Times where do you need help with this? Or how can we resolve this? It wasn't just what's happening, and I'm checking it off the list that I've checked in with that person. But what's really happening and is there a larger pattern going on and how do we resolve? Because if it's a problem for one, it's a problem for probably more than one. Right. So why solve it just once, solve it for all?
And so that part was so impressive, is that people weren't just saying, oh, I'm having trouble with this and then dumping it on you or a materials person or a shipping person or whoever they were. Like, here's the problem, here was the solution. This is how we can resolve it from happening again. And so there was always that call to action. And I just thought that was so impressive. I've never had more respect for your team than I did after sitting in those meetings.
[00:12:54] Speaker B: Yeah, thank you for that. That team is absolutely devoted to the team members and to the customers and very open minded to change.
And that's one of the biggest reasons we've been able to progress as quickly as we have is they've been, you know, really with open arms to change and they are very much dedicated to trying to be the best that they can each day.
[00:13:14] Speaker A: Yeah, no, that's been amazing. What's something new that you're learning about these days? It can be personal or professional.
[00:13:20] Speaker B: Something I'm learning new today. I have absolutely learned so much about the 450 door that we brought from CGI.
[00:13:28] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:13:29] Speaker B: So it's making me want to get a 450 door for my house here in Florida.
[00:13:32] Speaker A: All right.
[00:13:33] Speaker B: But yes, I've learned a lot about that specific door and it's been great. So I've really enjoyed working with our people and really understanding that whole process.
[00:13:42] Speaker A: Yeah, no, that's amazing. I do have one question that ties back to the war room or the shark tank. What do all the boards mean? Is that just production numbers for each product?
[00:13:53] Speaker B: I can walk you through that real quick. So the first board that we have and we were very acclimated to staying on schedule.
[00:13:59] Speaker A: Oh yeah, it was rapid fire.
[00:14:00] Speaker B: It's very versed. So they do a really nice job at it. But we always start off with our glass plant and glass gives a good update on their production versus target from the prior day and prior night. Then they also talk about any equipment related issues, quality related issues, and basically we go through the glass plant first and to understand if they need help, if they are Having challenges. If there's anything that that support group in there can do to help them in the specific situation, then we move into something. We did a little bit different last year. We had a lot of good changes last year. We separated our business here in PGT into three buckets. Our aluminum business, our vinyl business, and our doors. And so we have accountability for those lines for one production manager manages each of those given buckets of those areas.
[00:14:49] Speaker A: Okay.
[00:14:49] Speaker B: And so what it does, it really defines the accountability for the area and streamlines that. So what you saw that day, you saw those managers speaking to their performance for the prior day.
[00:14:59] Speaker A: Sir. Okay.
[00:15:00] Speaker B: As to target. So they take part in that and really drive it down to the customer impacts. We move through the facility or around that room. We conduct the warehouse. Very similar prior results issues that they face on time and in full to the customer. We also do Fort Myers. So Chris Kerwood steps in and covers his plant. We move into Windor and the commercial group. So KGR handles that for us. And then we move into materials. So any material related issues that we're having, shortages, things that we need to discuss.
And then we also do our quality as well. We have a quality board. We reflect upon all the prior day's inspections and any issues that we're having. We sum it up with maintenance and reliability and continuous improvement. We have a board for that as well. And then for the ones that we don't have boards for, then they speak to their given areas. That would be customer service. Our finance team also play a big part in that as well. And safety as well.
[00:15:54] Speaker A: Yeah, it was a finely tuned machine. I was like, wow, I've been in some pretty intense meetings before, but I was like, man, these guys are bam, bam, bam. You were in and out of there. So no, I appreciate the invitation to come and sit in and learn a little bit more about what y' all do and appreciate your time recording with me on this topic. And thanks for not sharing anything too detailed because we can't really put out a ton of information. But I think for our dealer customers, if they wanted to dig into this a little bit more, they could probably reach out and we can help them out.
[00:16:27] Speaker B: Absolutely, yeah.
[00:16:28] Speaker A: Awesome. Well, Chris, I hope you have a fantastic day. Thank you so much.
[00:16:31] Speaker B: Thank you.
[00:16:32] Speaker A: All right, take care.
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